Oppenheimer Actor Advocates For Cillian Murphy To Play James Bond

The 96th Academy Awards are just taking place on Sunday, and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer scored 13 nominations, including ones for Best Picture and Best Director. Cillian Murphy is also nominated for Best Actor, and it's believed the award will either go to him or Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers. Murphy seems to be the frontrunner after winning the SAG Award, but you never know how the Oscars will unfold. While film fans eagerly await Hollywood's biggest night, some folks are thinking about Murphy's future. Oppenheimer's Clay Bunker (Kissing Man) recently revealed to The Sun that he thinks Murphy should be the next James Bond. 

"He would fare beautifully," Bunker explained. "It's funny because Cillian is the nicest human but he has that dark side and there's a darkness to Bond ... We forget that sometimes Bond is like the character Fleming created – a pretty dark character. He just happens to be on the side that we call good. Cillian has that ability to tap into that."

"We've seen that in something like Peaky Blinders, even in Batman when he is playing Scarecrow – the myriad of other films he's done," Bunker added.

When Will The New Bond Be Cast? 

After Daniel Craig's 15-year stint as James Bond came to an end in 2021, fans of the franchise have been eager to find out who would take on the iconic role next. Many big names have been tossed around as the possible next 007. Some actors have explained why they aren't right for the role while others have detailed some bad auditions, and some are even throwing their hats in the ring. Unfortunately, producer Barbara Broccoli's latest update about Bond casting was a disappointing one. 

While speaking with Deadline, per Digital Spy, Broccoli confessed, "There's nothing I can tell you about the next Bond film ... There's nothing. Nothing is happening yet."

"He can be of any color, but he is male," Broccoli previously shared. "I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters. I'm not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."

Nobody's in the running," producer Barbara Broccoli told Deadline in 2022. "We're working out where to go with him, we're talking that through. There isn't a script and we can't come up with one until we decide how we're going to approach the next film because, really, it's a reinvention of Bond. We're reinventing who he is and that takes time. I'd say that filming is at least two years away."

Could you see Cillian Murphy as James Bond? Tell us in the comments!